Colorado Road Trippn’: Day 5 in Aspen

Aspen could be a bit quiet during the off-season, but if you’re looking to relax, it’s the perfect choice. Did we mention it’s a lot cheaper?! The hotels are about half the price and all the high-end boutiques and sky equipment stores have significant discounts. There are also enough hiking trails, museums and outdoor activities to keep you busy for hours.

After a little research, we decided to stay at the Molly Gibson Lodge, not just because of the price, location and comfy rooms, but also because they offer a great breakfast buffet until 10:30am. Our plan was to sleep in and enjoy a relaxed breakfast.

We were lucky to get a beautiful sunny morning too. Around this time of the year (late April, early May), you have to constantly check the weather to plan your day accordingly. We walked around town for a little while before hitting the road back to Boulder.

The drive back was about 3 ½ hours, but there are opportunities to stop along the way. You can check out the different sky towns or just find a natural area to rest and take a few pictures.

We stopped at Grizzly Creek around the town of Gypsum, just because Nabol found it too beautiful to resist. Then, we headed to Dinosaur Ridge, about 35 minutes south of Boulder.

Dinosaur Ridge is one of the world’s most famous dinosaur fossil localities. Some of the best-known dinosaurs were found here in 1877, including the Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus, Diplodocus and Allosaurus. At different points of the trail, you’ll learn about the local geology, the volcanic ash bed, tracing fossils and the economic development of coal, among many other topics. It will definitively build up your appetite for dinner.

Once we arrived in Boulder, we drove to The Hill to get some delicious noodles at an old favorite: Pho’ You & Mee Noodle House. It’s affordable, comforting and just what we needed after such a long drive.

After our early dinner, we were ready to call it a day. We just stopped by Alfalfa’s, a locally owned organic and natural food market, for some late-night snacks and drinks. Then, it was straight to the hotel to recharge our batteries for the next day.